The present invention is directed to a food product cooker and, in particular, to a cooker wherein the food is conveyed through a series of different temperature chambers.
In mass production of certain preprepared foods, the food is first placed in a pouch of plastic or the like which is then sealed. Fairly uniform quantities of the product are placed in each of the pouches. The pouches are then heated so as to cook the food and thereafter cooled to preserve the food and maintain quality of the food during storage and transportation.
In certain products of this type, it is very important to raise the temperature of the products slowly and to apply a high temperature to the product which is free from severe cycling and has no high temperature spikes. In particular, if the product is heated too quickly or if high temperatures are unevenly applied to the product, especially where the product is a meat product, the organoleptic qualities of the resultant product will be low, principally because the quick exposure to heat and the cycling of high temperatures both tend to drive fluids, especially water and fats, from the product.
Certain of the prior art devices have utilized steam for cooking; however, the steam has been inserted near the top of the cooker or indiscriminately, which has resulted in uneven temperature gradations across the cooker and especially in high temperature spikes near the top of the cooker. These uneven high temperatures of the prior art cause the resultant poor quality in the final product which was referred to in the previous paragraph. Therefore, it is important to introduce the steam for cooking in a highly controlled and even manner, such that the temperature remains substantially isothermal throughout a particular cooking region.